A Psalm for Afghanistan

 Psalm 120 came alive with some research.

The author is distressed as he lives in Meshach in the tents of Kedar. Where and what do these mean?

The grandson of Noah, Meshech is described as a human trafficker in Ezekiel 27:13. Cities and regions were named after people, so I assume that the Psalmist had landed in a place with purveyors of humans around him.

Kedar is not better. The name means blackness and sorrow. The tribe of Kedar was known as warriors who were never at peace. They won some, they lost some, but they were always at war. This link has some fascinating data to think about. I haven't verified that they know everything they are talking about, but it provides some historical speculation. https://nabataea.net/explore/history/12tribes/

These places sound like modern times, don't they? Human trafficking, war, blackness and sorrow.

So back to the beginning of the chapter. When we cry in our distress in the tents of sorrow, trafficking and war, God hears. He might not answer as we think, but He hears.

So consider the story of Ruth and Naomi with me. Everything that could have gone wrong, did. But it wasn't the end of the story. No, in the end it was redeemed by even giving Ruth as an outsider a place in the family tree of the Messiah, Jesus. Ruth and Naomi came in a sense of the word, from Kedar (blackness, sorrow) to enter into a story of hope and redemption in Israel.

Whether we get to see the end of the story that is currently happening in Afghanistan where the Taliban seem to have a huge lot in common with the warriors of Kedar is not the point. The thing we need is to believe that God is still good, that He is still working on drawing people to Himself, and He is still redeeming stories like Ruth and Naomi. He is offering unlikely opportunity and position to people who trust Him. The people, like Ruth, may never know what that important role was, but God does. 

In this moment, we know God hears. God is doing something. We may not see it, but we can rest assured that He is working just as He always has. We just need to trust Him. 

And yes, it doesn't feel fair or right that we are safe and blessed while places like Afghanistan or Myanmar are in the middle of fire. We can pray. We can ask God how He wants us involved in the world. We can trust that God, not evil, will win in the end. And instead of worrying about what all might happen before the end of the world, let's make sure our hearts are ready for the End of our lives.